Despite another small event held in Nottingham on Saturday 21st July (Splendour), Ruddington Parish Council’s third Summer Fayre provided an afternoon of excellent fun and entertainment for the village.
As the sun beat down on The Green, visitors were able to watch the live entertainment of “Ruddington’s Got Talent” on the main stage. This included several great singing performances by Ruddington Community Choir, The Golden Oldies, and some very talented (not so old!) girls who also performed lovely solos.
Nara Belly Dancers were very impressive and their enthusiasm encouraged members of the public, including our Events Team Councillors, Jill Reedman and Annette Auckland, along with Borough Councillor Martin Buckle to take part! The stage acts were then concluded with a lovely set by Debbie King and finally closing the show, The Pioneer, Tony Ward. All the acts were introduced by our compere for the day, Andy Hallam, who also provided excellent music throughout the day.
In addition, our regular Punch & Judy performers gave several shows and entertained the children with balloon art. The children’s fun fair rides proved very popular as well as the cute animals brought along by Fudge & Co.
We were pleased to welcome a record number of traders and charity stalls offering cakes, pies, jams, jewellery, clothes, hats, toys and beauty products. The selection of food and drinks stands also proved very popular as always.
Most importantly, we’d like to thank all the visitors who turned up in their hundreds for this local event and supported Ruddington Parish Council’s Charity of the Year, Bloomin’ Dementia, by taking part in the raffle for a chance to win one of 40 fabulous prizes donated by local businesses and residents.
As a special treat, we were also delighted that Nottinghamshire and England cricketer, Jake Ball, accepted our invitation to draw the raffle and provide photo opportunities for visitors. Along with the money raised at The Great Get Together in June, over £500 was raised for Bloomin’ Dementia.
The Events Team are now planning for the arrival of the Tour of Britain on Saturday 8th September along with the ever-popular Christmas Fayre on Saturday 1st December – save the dates!
Councillor Sue Matthews
Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Hilary Thorpe for the lovely letter you sent us saying how much you enjoyed the Summer Fayre and taking part in the Golden Oldies singing group. We loved reading about your memories of former fetes in the village with traction engines and fortune tellers, too!